


Faint Memories

by MidnightPhase



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:17:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3691956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightPhase/pseuds/MidnightPhase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack and Cloud have gone back in time and the problem is Sephiroth got there first. There is no time to train and there is definitely no chance of them getting any help from those they once relied on... What awaits in the future when things have already happened once?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

In one last ditch effort to save herself, Gaia gathered the last of her memories and will in a single form. Two beings would survive her destruction and only by nurturing one could the other ever hope to regain the power he once had. Time cracked and split, the force known as Gaia ripping apart under the force of Meteor's awesome magic. The world as the humans knew it ended and pulled back in taking with it everything the Lifestream was.

Lightning flashed high above the trees, drowning out the pounding of a SOLDIER's heart when he suddenly jerked to full wakefulness. The last thing he had been aware of was the choking sensation of blood filling slowly into his lungs. He was already on his feet and moving towards the door when he stumbled into a heavy object and flipped over the item. Landing with a heavy thud, Zack Fair glared up at the glow in the dark stars that decorated his bedroom ceiling.

Horror filled the Soldier as he felt his eyes widen even further. The sudden flickering of his light coming on furthered the dark haired warrior's sinking feeling. His mother's voice penetrated the self inflicting darkness as her pale hand reached out to touch his shoulder.

Faster then she could blink, Zack flipped to his feet and landed in a guarded stance nearly five feet from her with the bed between them. "Mom?" he asked, the burn of mako tinting his eyes vision green as the woman let out a startled breath.

"Zack, how did you…" she whispered softly. "It must have been when the Reactor exploded. The doctors said there would be side affects and…"

"No, mom, listen. I… I think it was just a bad dream. You know? Like too many movies or something. You know what they say, too much TV and not enough exercise can cause things like that." Zack interrupted. "I'll… just go back to bed, okay?"

It had to be his own mind playing games on him, but he could have sworn his mother looked faint there for a second. "I'll be fine, mom." he insisted. Walking around his bed, he gently pushed her from his room and shut the door behind her. Leaning on the thin wood, the Soldier trapped in a teenagers body slid down the surface with a groan.

He had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on and none of it looked very good.

"Oh, Planet, what is the point of this?" he groaned. "Send us back in time? Make it all happen over again? For what? So Sephiroth can get screwed and screw us over again?"

Moaning quietly, Zack nearly strangled when he heard his mother's footsteps approach his door again. This time they were accompanied by the heavy thud of someone else. Steps that Zack Fair had prayed never to hear again.

"Oh, sweet Planet, not him." The boy groaned. His father always left him feeling like a small child, no matter what age he was. Pushing himself up and away from the door Zack swiftly moved towards his open bedroom window. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he got one last look at his parents before he dived through the opening. Rolling, Zack came to his feet after crashing through his family's trees and rubbed a spot on his head where he ended up smacking it.

"Damn," he cursed when he noticed the Shin-Ra military presence. "Okay, I can do this. Just need to get out of town and figure out where to go from there."

Carefully, Zack edged around the military vehicles parked up and down his street until he was just about even with the village inn. Inside, he could hear the various conversations being carried out by different troops and personal. Laughter bubbled up from a woman as she giggled something inappropriate into a man's ear. The man's barking laughter however sent a cold chill down Zack Fair's spine.

"Angeal…" he whispered, turning bright eyes towards the Inn's windows. Slowly, he crept closer, knowing that if he was spotted he would be hauled back home by the ear. Shaking off the image, Zack nearly spluttered when he saw a heavily made up woman leaning all over his old mentor. Frowning sharply at the sight, he was just about to say something when a hand tightened in the back of his night shirt. Gagging on the pull of fabric around his neck, Zack kicked out with a swift kick.

Catching his captor in the gut, Zack scowled sharply when he was yanked into the light by Sephiroth himself. Only it was a younger version of the Great General he had once called friend. "Yo." he greeted weakly.

An arm still rubbed at what apparently was now bruised flesh as the green eyed man glared down at him.

"Think you can stop choking me?" he asked, wrapping fingers around his captor's wrist. "It's a little hard to breathe."

"Zack Fair," Sephiroth drawled, smirking darkly at the young teenager. Blue eyes widened frantically as the General tightened his fingers into a vice like grip. "What a coincidence…"

He broke off when a sharp blade swung in the direction of his tightening arm. Dropping the dark haired boy, Sephiroth leaped back when a spiky blond child dropped with a crouch between the two SOLDIERs. Zack felt his eyes comically widen once again when he figured out just who it was between himself and Sephiroth. A long blond ponytail draped against Cloud's back as he shifted his feet in response to Sephiroth's slight change of position.

"How endearing. The two of you have come to keep me amused." he drawled softly.

"Sephiroth," Cloud growled, readjusting his grip on the heavy standard sword given to all SOLDIERs.

Zack momentarily wondered who he knocked unconscious to get his palms on the weapon before he flipped himself to his feet. "Yo, Spike, this isn't the place. Seph's got some back up inside. I know you can take him, but Angeal and Genesis would definitely put us in a pinch."

"I know." Cloud answered. "It's not like he's just going to let us go though."

Zack frowned, weighing their options when a ring tone echoed out from Sephiroth's pocket. Frowning, the maddened General yanked the device from it's holster under his coat and opened the phone. Pressing it to his ear, the silver haired man glared hotly at the two children as he answered.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Sir, we've got some trouble. Three SOLDIERs were knocked out and there's a child missing somewhere in Gongaga. We suspect that the missing boy may be behind it." A silver brow rose sharply as Sephiroth smirked at them.

"It's fine. I'm taking care of the situation. Stay where you are." he ordered. Closing the phone, Sephiroth pocketed the device. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, we were having a family reunion. Cloud's been to those, haven't you, boy? Want to tell Fair how it works?"

Growling, the blond raised his sword higher into the air.

"Oh man," Zack whispered. "This is not in my game plan."

"Sephiroth, what's going on here?" Angeal's voice called out. Tensing, Zack Fair moaned even louder when a hand gripped the back of his shirt once more. "Why are these two kids out here?"

"They decided they wanted to play SOLDIER." Sephiroth answered. "I merely wanted to offer them a few tips."

"With a live weapon?" Angeal prompted as Genesis strode past him and apprehended the sword from Cloud's grip. The red haired man reached out and plucked the slight blond up from the ground. Cloud visibly tensed, arms and legs shifting into an unarmed combat stance as a hand wrapped around Genesis's own wrist.

Zack whimpered when he heard the ominous creak of leather under pressure. Cloud had just fractured reinforced material with his grip alone. Who knew all those dips into the Lifestream would give him that much physical strength?

"Spike, we need to get home. Now." Zack called out. Maybe his mom would go easy on him if he explained he was just helping out a friend. Sephiroth would count as a bully, wouldn't he?

Angeal made a fist in the back of Zack's pajama top as he examined both boys. "What's really going on here?"

Zack cursed harshly under his breath and earned a cuff to the top of his head. "Watch it, kid." Angeal ordered. "Sephiroth, this is completely unlike you."

The silver haired man arched a brow at his old friend before lightly shrugging. "It's as I said. They needed a few pointers to help them understand their game better."

Genesis growled as suddenly Cloud whipped his head around and sank his teeth sharply into the man's bare fore arm. Dropping the malicious blond, he cursed when he spotted the blood. Cloud backed up several feet to stand beside Zack with narrowed blue eyes.

"Just playing SOLDIER, huh?" Genesis observed as he tossed the blade down at his feet. "Little brat."

Cloud's jaw tightened just as Zack reached out and jerked the smaller kid closer to him. "Keep it cool, Spike." he warned.

"Zack," the blond responded. "we're screwed."

"Yeah, mom's gonna roast my butt." he answered. "Now shut up and let me handle this."

Cloud shot a sharp look to his friend as he shrugged off Angeal's grip. "Thanks for the pointers, mister, but I got to get my little brother back home. Mom's not going to be happy he was out so late."

(break)

Sephiroth furrowed his brow as Zack Fair grabbed the smaller Cloud by his bony wrist and hauled the child with him back the direction they had come. In those few moments, the General had come to an understanding. Zack Fair was going to keep their war between the three of them.

Intriguing.

Too bad Genesis and Angeal were present. It would have been fun to end their pathetic resistance early in the game. The rapid foot steps of Angeal snapped Sephiroth momentarily back to himself right before the dark haired son of Jenova planted a fist against his jaw bone. Knocked savagely back two steps, Sephiroth shook his head.

Rubbing at the bruised flesh, he waited for an explanation. "They're children, Sephiroth. Not game pieces to be toyed with simply because you don't have enough to do."

"Are you drunk?" Genesis asked, stepping over the dropped sword.

"I had two or three before coming out here. That's not the point I am making here. There is no need to teach children when the barracks are full back home." he pointed out.

Sephiroth shook his head. He had almost forgotten what their honorable brother was like. Like Zack and Cloud though not without some motivation to join their cause. Resigning himself to Angeal's anger, the general offered him an amused smile.

"Then let us be done with this assignment. It' s become boring." he answered him.

Sighing, Genesis turned on his feet to return to the Inn. "We have a test to study for in the morning. I have no wish to fail it because I am exhausted. Come up when you are ready to."

Angeal waited, crossing his arms over his chest as Sephiroth met him glare for glare. Amused the General crossed the open Inn yard to join Genesis in their shared rooms. He would humor them for now. It had been several years since he spent any amount of time with either of them.

"As you wish." Sephiroth agreed, following their elder brother up the steps. He would need a decent time to reveal the full truth of their relationship, however, now was not the time. He wanted Zack Fair and Cloud Strife to be part of the package. It would take a few more months before that could happen. Hojo had to be shuffled into the right place and Hollander needed to be eliminated. There was so much work to be done and he was going to enjoy every last minute of it.

In the end, he would have his God-hood and the entire world would bow at his feet.

(break)

"Oh god, oh god, oh god! Spike we just about died. Again." Zack moaned, grasping the front of his pajama shirt as Cloud watched him in amazement. "There is never anything right with picking on Sephiroth. Cloud, do you have any idea what about happened there?"

Shrugging, the miniscule blond waited for his friend to calm down. "Zack," he whispered.

"Yes, Spike, I know. I know all about the whole Jenova-thing." he answered softly. "What I need to know is how he knew I was there."

"It's not Jenova's cells in our blood. It's the Sephiroth Gene. He… did something to Jenova and took over. Jenova is as much a puppet as I was, now." Cloud answered him.

"Oh, that's just wonderful. So how the hell do we find him and avoid him?" Zack growled. "At least until we're strong enough to take him on."

Smiling, Cloud crossed his arms. "Don't you mean when we're old enough?"

"The heck does that mean?" Zack answered.

"I'm eleven, Zack. I left my eleventh birthday party to get here and intercept Sephiroth before he could kill you." Cloud responded. "That makes you…"

"Fourteen." he whispered. "Dang it. That's the age I was when I ran away to Midgar."

(break)

His mother for lack of better terms was most unhappy with him. She was twice as unhappy with Cloud though. His blond 'brother' was visibly wilting as she lectured him on all the things that could go wrong when a small child his age just ran away from home. If he hadn't been in trouble himself he might have snickered.

Or poked fun at his unfortunate friend.

As it was, Zack was forced to sit at the table while his father spoke to another frantic mother on the other end of the phone and tried to explain how her child traveled half a continent to Gongaga from Nibelheim.

Yeah, it was amusing, given their situation.

Finally after two hours and a very quiet conversation between Cloud and his mother things settled down. Bunked down in his room, the two friends stared silently up at his ceiling. "So, Spike, what happened?"

"Sephiroth summoned Meteor and ended the world." Cloud answered. "With all the power that was released you can guess what happened."

"You cast an exit spell, didn't you?" Zack prodded, rolling up on his shoulder to stare down at the blond in his borrowed sleeping bag.

"Yeah." he answered a few minutes later. "It seemed like the only thing to do."

"Wow. How'd I get pulled along for the ride?" he furthered.

"Gaia, I'm sure had something to do with it." Cloud answered, twisting so that he was laying in another more comfortable position. "Zack, what do you think is going to happen next?"

"No telling, to be honest. Seph has something to lose now. He's got 'geal and Gen back." he responded softly. "He'll be more interested in bringing them in on his plans. Last time though… I had to kill them both."

Cloud remained quiet at the revelation. "We should find out what happened to Vincent. As it is, he's the only one who could have the power to help us stand up to Sephiroth."

"Wouldn't he still be locked up in Hojo's lab?"

Groaning, Cloud tucked his head into his covers. "We need to get some sleep. Sephiroth and the others are still in town and that mad man enjoys playing with me."

"I noticed. Man, Cloud, you really must get under his skin." Zack laughed as he closed his eyes. "But you're right. We need to be ready for anything in the morning."

Cloud was silent for a moment. "My mother is going to kill me."

"Which mother do you mean?" Zack couldn't help but ask.

"Don't even go there." Cloud warned him, voice dripping with murderous intent as the dark haired Zack laughed at him. "Or I'll tell yours you were planning to run off to Midgar."

Zack shot the smaller boy a horrified look. "You… are… evil."

Cloud blinked tiredly at him. "I had Sephiroth in my head for a number of years."

"I thought I was in your head." Zack defended.

Cloud was ominously silent after that. "You both were."

"Oh yeah. That's why you became such a kick ass SOLDIER-type person." Zack beamed.

"Zack, shut up and go to bed." His mother yelled from across the hall.

Snickers from the drowsing Cloud followed a blushing Zack into sleep a few moments later.

(break)

This is what morning had to offer the five Soldier variants and their life styles. Cloud Strife jumped to his feet by four thirty in the morning, bent on making all of his delivers on time. He stumbled to a halt when he remembered that he was in all actuality only eleven years old and there for unable to actually accomplish this goal.

Sephiroth awakened promptly at five in the morning and proceeded with the difficult chore of getting Genesis and Angeal up in time to face the music. There was a moment when the General in him largely considered the benefits of small children and teenagers when neither of the two SOLDIERs seemed willing to actually answer to that call.

Zack Fair finally came to life at eight thirty that morning and left a bored Cloud stumped how someone can go from log to action that swiftly. All before they had morning coffee. Or in Cloud's case cereal heaped with sugar. Shuddering the blonde child watched the Fair family go through the motions of their day until a knock echoed dully through their ear drums.


	2. Chapter 2

The five SOLDIER variants greeted the morning in vastly different ways. Cloud Strife jumped to his feet by four thirty in the morning, bent on making all of his delivers on time. He stumbled to a halt when he remembered that he was in all actuality only eleven years old and unable to actually accomplish this goal.

Sephiroth awakened promptly at five in the morning and proceeded with the difficult chore of getting Genesis and Angeal up. There was a moment when the General in him largely considered the benefits of small children and teenagers when neither of the two SOLDIERs seemed willing to actually answer to that call.

Zack Fair finally came to life at eight thirty that morning and left a bored Cloud stumped how someone can go from log to action that swiftly. All before they had morning coffee. Or in Cloud's case cereal heaped with sugar. Shuddering the blonde child watched the Fair family go through the motions of their day until a knock echoed dully through their ear drums.

 

((Break))

 

"They are children, Sephiroth. What were you thinking?" Angeal said, turning to confront the younger man the moment their feet hit the ground.

Sephiroth smirked slightly at the confrontational tone in his 'older brother's' tone as he seemed to sink into a lecture mode. As the youngest of the trio, Sephiroth found himself frequently challenged by Genesis and corrected morally by Angeal. His own role remained a bit confusing to the himself, however, the three of them would be a force to be reckoned with once he was able to 'fix' the pair of them. Narrowing his green eyes, he took in the casually observing form of Genesis as he leaned against the wall watching the pair of them.

"Those two boys have mako in their systems. Without proper training they could hurt others and SOLDIER would be held liable." He rationalized. "Especially since the older of the two has already filed an application to join the military."

"That does not explain why you were manhandling a pair of brats, Sephiroth." Genesis persisted, "You do not even treat our recruits that rough. Did they remind you of something unpleasant, perhaps?" 

Ever the poet, Sephiroth thought to himself as he shifted his stance to include both men in his field of vision. "Children do not belong in the military."

He kept his gaze locked with Angeal's as he waited for the man to finish considering his words. For Sephiroth wanted to simply keep Zack and Cloud from Shin-Ra and SOLDIER. It would not prevent them from being a challenge, however that was why he had Hojo and Jenova. A little more pressure on Cloud's already fragile and fractured mind would reduce him to a puppet once again. Zack of course would needed to be handled with a little more care. The Puppy and the Puppet would be destroyed before they could ever become a threat.

"I have some calls to make," Angeal declared as he headed for the door to the main office the three of them shared in Gongaga.

Once alone, Genesis lifted a red eye brow at their silver haired friend. "How intriguing that the mighty hero thinks of the safety of children. Yet, I do not believe that is your true motivation, is it, Sephiroth?"

"I can never fool you, can I, Genesis?" Sephiroth responded, watching the redhead for signs of rebellion. A tool was only as useful as the cause, of course. What the eldest of them stated next undid the bulk of his plans in the span of seconds.

Genesis pushed himself up from the wall. Crossing the distance to Sephiroth the redhead leaned his head casually to the side. "You are a clever, manipulative man. Yet, I sense an ulterior motive behind this facade that you have constructed for Angeal." 

"A contest then? To claim the right to destroy the world or some other twisted version of Loveless, Genesis?" Sephiroth teased. They were still friends after all.

"A mere observation of the man that would summon a meteor." Genesis stated, flipping open his book and once more resuming his poetic recitation of the Loveless poem.

 

((Break))

 

Stepping out of the room Angeal paused to think for a few moments more. The three Firsts each had different motivations for joining SOLDIER. Angeal had followed a friend's lead and ended up becoming something he never thought possible. He was a SOLDIER, rising fast in the ranks for an unnumbered amount of reasons.

Sephiroth was almost unmatched in sword and magic skills. Genesis, so used to being the best, found himself constantly challenging the younger swordsman. Angeal found himself often stopping the growing fights and challenges simply to keep the destruction to a manageable level.

Now, Sephiroth went out of his way to pick on two mako enhanced children. It was as if he were deliberately bringing the children to the notice of the Turks that followed them. Why though?

((Break))

 

Slowly, Mister Fair opened the door to admit the early morning guest as both boys at once stiffened at the sight of the long familiar blue suit and tie combination. Zack's eyes flicked to the old umbrella his mother sometimes used when the rains got too much even as Cloud toed the bat he had brought down from Zack's room.

Both sets of mako eyes narrowed at the Turk as he glanced in their direction.

"I am here for an insurance issue from Shin-Ra to interview anyone who has been exposed to mako due to the untimely explosion." The Turk stated, his dark eyes staring hard at Zack's father. "The interviews will need to be conducted in privacy to insure accuracy, of course."

"I am afraid our guest is from Nibelheim, sir." Zack's mother interrupted. There was fire in her voice and the native Gongagan gestured for her husband to leave the door open as she poked a finger in the Turk's chest. "While we can allow you to speak with Zack, we cannot give permission for you to interview Cloud. Since we are focused on these interviews we are not about to allow you to interview our son either."

"If you are interested in collecting any of the finances set aside by the company we are required to conduct the necessary interviews." The Turk argued.

Cloud grabbed onto Zack's sleeve as the fourteen year old made to get to his feet. Looking back at his much smaller friend, the teenager slowly started to back away with Cloud until the eleven year old came even with the back door. It took a few more steps when the Turk jerked his head to stare in the direction when both mako infused children had wrenched open the back door and barreled out into the thick underbrush of the jungle.

Zack's footing was slightly faster than Cloud's however the smaller child was able to keep pace enough that the two of them only took a rough fifteen minutes to reach the road.

"Cloud, man, I just ran away from home. Again!" Zack panted out, looking back in the direction they had come from. "I don't think we're going to be joining the army again, are we?"

Cloud shook his head no. "We're going to need some materia if we're going to be fleeing the Turks. Weapons too."

"No one's going to sell weapons to a couple of kids without military identification, Cloud." Zack said evenly. "Not even Shin-Ra is stupid enough to break that law."

Cloud shook his head. "Unused weapon caches exist all around the Planet. We'll have to make use of what we find in those."

"And if we're asked for the licenses needed to actually carry those weapons?"

"Dog tags." Cloud responded. "Children and grandchildren of veterans are automatically given a probationary time in which they can learn how to use a weapon or enter the schools provided for by the Shin-Ra electric power company."

"Neither of my parents or grandparents were in the military, Cloud." Zack stated.

"Our grandfather was according to what you stated to Sephiroth." The blond replied, his blue eyes turning to stare Zack down. "We're half brothers from the same father and our paternal grandfather went missing before the Wutai war. We know he was a member of the Research and Development department but dog tags are never issued to Turks."

"Wait... where exactly are you going with this?"

"If Vincent is unwilling to physically help us we can still use him as a resource." Cloud explained. "We might have to work the cover story along the way."

"Cloud, no one is going to believe that we're related." Zack stated solemnly.

Letting out a breath of air, the eleven year old turned to look at his friend. "When you died... I inherited several of your traits. My memories rewrote themselves and only because of Tifa did I rediscover who I was. Zack, in my head, I was you."

"So, you're saying you have a few of my personality traits and habits?" Zack asked. "Mako changes the natural eye color so you're obviously counting on that to hide more obvious questions. You had some time obviously to think of some kind of story. How long have you been in the past, Cloud?"

"A little over a week." he responded, turning his head slightly away. "I... felt your presence here... in Gongaga."

Zack blinked at him, urging the younger boy to clarify what he was trying to say.

"We share the Sephiroth gene. Reunion pushes individuals to return to the source and those same feelings can be used to find and manipulate a person's will." Cloud answered, his eyes unable to meet Zack's as he spoke.

"I see." Zack responded, remembering the attack where he had been forced to kill Angeal and the times he'd been pushed into battle with Genesis. "So, Sephiroth was like them then."

The statement brought Cloud to looking at Zack fully. "I did not get a lot of memories, Zack. Just... a few things like how to use a sword."

"I suppose I should explain to you. You may not remember them but they were a large impact on what happened with Sephiroth, Nibelheim, and the two of us. A few years before I met you I was an apprentice to Angeal Hewley. He's the guy who originally had the Buster. He and the other two commanders were friends. Genesis went rogue first and Shin-Ra sent me after him because the other two refused the mission. I was promoted to first and we met on that mission to Modeoheim."

 

"Tseng was piloting. We crashed." Cloud added in as Zack paused.

"Angeal forced me into combat with him and I killed him. I promised myself I would never let something like that happen again. We both do not need to remember those years in Hojo's lab so I am just going to jump to the end of that last year. When the military attacked us, I left you behind some rocks, and went out to face them. By then I was getting pretty worn down, Cloud. It took an entire army and even then those bullets still did not cut me down. I wanted you to live free of those dark memories and able to carry on for me."

"I did my best..." Cloud began, cut off when Zack shook his head.

"You did better than I thought. You continued to hold onto your honor and even if you forgot everything else you were able to come back to yourself, save your girl, save the Planet, and defeat the bad guy." Planting both hands on the blonde's shoulders, Zack stared the younger boy down. "You may have had a habit of running late but you were still there."

"Only because..."

"I'm not dead and you're not going to carry this burden alone. So, let's go wake up the creepy old guy in the coffin and make some mincemeat out of the General." Zack declared, holding out his hand to Cloud.

That should have been the start of something wonderful and grand, at least, it would have been if not for the fact that the two children were suddenly surrounded by Turks. A man at their head lifted a single sheet of paper from the clipboard as he glanced at Zack Fair from behind thick glasses.

"Zack Fair, I presume? This must be your 'relative' Cloud Strife? Telephone records suggest no such connection before the meeting with First Class SOLDIER Sephiroth. Now, then, we know the truth children, and we want to work out something for the better of all Gaia," the blond stranger started. "I'm Director Lazard of Soldier. I'm certain you know why we've come."

Stiffening his spine where he stood, Zack gave a subtle nod in the affirmative. "I changed my mind about joining right away." He stated. "Cloud and I are planning to do a little traveling."

"That is, unfortunately off the table, Mister Fair. You see, when two mako enhanced children gain the attention of one of our Firsts, we need to understand why. Your friend for instance has a very interesting reaction to his 'hero', wouldn't you say, Mister Strife?"

"Sephiroth isn't..." Cloud started, shook his head and fell silent. He sent a glance towards Zack and inched a bit behind him as the older boy shifted his weight. There was a feeling that Zack would do something soon hanging in the air and he want to be left behind in the aftermath.

 

Reaction from Mystic 777 during the betaing process : I must say, wasn't expecting that twist. For Lazard to show up and talk about the good of the planet, does he have his memories too? O.O oh dear... (bats away rabid plot bunny)  
Author's Reaction : Mwahahahahahahahaha!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never take your eyes off of Zack.... O.o

"The operatives have captured the targets, sir. They are being transferred to the submersible as we speak." The TURK reported to the man leaning over his desk flipping through one of the many scantily clothed women magazines. "The other targets have already made contact with them. Agent A reported Targets Z and C have become a type of obsession for Specimen S. Specimen G seems to be involved in some kind of competition with Specimen S. All targets remain ignorant of the circumstances."

Looking up from his magazine, the rotund President of Shinra smiled at the man. "Agent Valentine, you are truly a remarkable man. I'm pleased I was able to liberate you from those horrid conditions the Professor kept you in. Report to Scarlett. She has your next assignment prepared."

Nodding, the TURK quickly departed the office as Shinra tipped his head towards the city. Shinra remembered the feel of cold steel sinking between his shoulders and the faint tang of his own blood on his tongue as Sephiroth had mocked him. He remembered the loss of finances funding Project Jenova and that thing's offspring. Rufus and the rest of his rabble had been dealt with. With the promise to Lazard in place he had secured a time frame in order to obtain some compensation from the coming disorder. Only this time he intended to be alive to take advantage of that. Fair had nearly escaped his plans, but with the lies he and Strife had used he had an advantage.

He didn't get to where he was by playing nice. It was time to stop playing around and get back to business. His hand pushed the filthy magazine from his desk surface and it landed in the trashcan beside the massive piece of furniture. He'd only managed to destroy all the Jenova Cells due to sending Hojo on a wild goose chase to Cactuar Island.

His plans were falling carefully into place but several pieces of the final picture were missing.

(Break)

Zack bent his legs slightly as Lazard held up a hand. If he didn't cooperate with the Director, they'd die. Or at the least they'd try to kill them. At best, their physical strength was about equal to that of when they'd first escaped the Nibelheim Labs. Cloud and he were surrounded, they had no weapons besides a bat and an umbrella. Neither was going to do any good against automatic weapons and what looked like a combination of Turks and Soldiers.

Worse case scenarios were not Zack's specialty. Making the best out of any situation was, however. That meant that if he played their cards right, Cloud and he could escape long enough to come up with a solid plan. Regardless, Shinra wanted them and that meant someone higher up whether it was Sephiroth or someone else, knew about them.

It could be Heidegger, Scarlet, Hojo, or even the President. That only meant he'd have to play this cool. Lazard had managed the Soldiers for a long time. That meant he was capable of knowing at least some of the training signs commanding officers were expected to know. Cloud was formerly a member of the Infantry. So, it was going to be old fashioned winging it then.

"We know you're not going to let us go." Zack started off. "But giving up isn't exactly my style."

Cloud's fingers twitched as one of the Soldiers present hefted his weapon slightly higher. The chocobo lure shimmered at the edges of his thoughts as he considered it. The materia was an unexpected gift Tifa gave him just before he ran away from the village. He remembered opening his eyes to the smell of burning wax and staring hard at the sight of his mother clapping her hands. He had desperately wanted to hug her, however the urgency that he had to get to Zack was even more important than those few moments.

Cloud had more than enough of Zack in his head to be able to clue in on what the black haired warrior was thinking. At least, he hoped he knew what Zack had in mind?

"Boys will be boys." Lazard began, his fingers pushed his glasses up further on his nose. "Shinra has the most influence on this world."

"Shinra is killing the planet." Cloud growled at him. "They are responsible for half the things going wrong now and it's only going to get worse."

"Then why don't we come to an understanding, boy?" Lazard responded, eyes solely on Cloud as Zack blanked at the sudden voice speaking up from behind him.

Cloud had always been somewhat on the quiet side, eager to prove to the world that he was just as good as anyone else. Cloud personified what an underdog was capable of when he was given the chance to excel. The darker haired of the pair stepped slightly back as the enemy began to tighten its circle around them.

"What are you doing, Cloud?" Zack whispered.

"Getting things on track." He responded without taking his eyes off his enemies. The Lure tingled across his flesh as he finally caught the edge of a Chocobo's attention. Within a few seconds, the giant yellow bird sped into the field and trampled over a pair of hapless infantry as Cloud jumped forward. Catching a bunch of feathers in his fingers, the blond wheeled the wild bird around to Zack's side.

Scrambling up onto a seat behind Cloud, Zack ducked closer as suddenly the bird warked at the enemy and took off running as fast it could carry its passengers away.

A few things happened when the Chocobo took off with his passengers. Lazard shouted at the military escort to follow and seize the offending children, one of the Turks quietly radioed for assistance, and Zack whooped loudly as the bird turned out to be faster than one of the local varieties.

(Break)

"You've been assigned to Soldier as Third Class Kunsel." The blonde woman was saying as Vincent stared past her and at the outline of the Reactors on the horizon. "We'll be deploying you right away in pursuit of Targets Zack Fair and Cloud Strife for recruitment. You will be required to take them alive."

Orders and more orders, with a relish of compliments on the side. Vincent was unhappy in his so called new found freedom and he could only play along so much before it became too much.

"I do not think this deception is a good idea." He responded.

"You're not paid to think, Valentine. You're paid to do what we need done." Scarlett drawled as she set aside the manila envelope. "If you find the undercover assignment to taxing, we can arrange something else. Regardless, the President wants those boys before Hojo can get them."

(Break)

"Hey, Cloud..." Zack began as soon as the Chocobo slowed to an ambling gait.

"Yeah?"

"If we don't join SOLDIER, how are we going to keep an eye on Sephiroth and Genesis?" Zack asked, the obvious answer lingering between them.

"You could die." Cloud whispered in response as he recalled those few memories on the cliff side facing Midgar.

"I dragged your butt halfway across Gaia, Cloud." Zack responded. "While you were a drooling mess, come to think of it."

Cloud scrunched his nose up at the mild insult. "I didn't drool." he drawled, the soft steel in his tone daring Zack to argue.

"Heh." The dark haired teen laughed. "So, we going to Midgar?"

Cloud's face went blank and he said it without meaning a word of it. "Not interested."

Zack's face stilled and mirrored the expression on his friends face before he dropped his shoulders. "Alright, Spike, so why not?"

"We need to get a few things and get them hidden away before Sephiroth decides to go looking for it. Some things like the Black Materia or Jenova are just too dangerous to leave to chance with him." He reminded him. "Of course, getting either one is going to be incredibly dangerous. Getting the Black Materia requires someone's death. Jenova is going to take a lot of willpower to stop from influencing our thoughts."

Zack huffed. "How'd you get this black materia in the first place?"

"A friend used a doll he had poured his soul into in order to obtain the Materia." Cloud answered, remembering briefly the sacrifice Cait Sith had made for them.

Zack let out a breath. Perhaps, they wouldn't be able to lean on Cloud's friend, but there was someone else they might be able to trust. "Angeal."

"What?" Cloud lifted an eyebrow at Zack's whispered word.

"My mentor… I guess you could consider him the middle child of the Jenova Project. Angeal can replicate his cells onto other beings or take them into himself. He was rather strong willed too. In fact, if I remember correctly, he was the closest to being like Jenova." he responded. "Even Sephiroth succumbed to insanity in Jenova's presence. But Angeal was all too aware of his honor, his humanity, to give into the insanity of that alien creature."

"He forced me to fight and kill him before he could become a monster. Angeal, underestimated his influence on his friends. He grounded them, kept them from going too far when the Firsts got bored." Zack continued to say. "If we can recruit him to our side we might be able to do something about those things you're talking about."

Cloud's eyes took on a new light as he looked sharply at his friend. He knew he would trust Zack with everything, yet to bring someone so close to Sephiroth into their field of work… Angeal sounded like someone who could turn on them.

"Do you trust him?" he wondered aloud.

Zack let a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "With my life. The same things I gave to you, I got from him. Angeal will always be the man that taught me everything I know about honor, dreams, and SOLDIER."

"No matter what life I wake up in." He finished.

Cloud swallowed. He thought about Vincent, Tifa, and the others. He considered his friendship with Zack and his failure to protect Aerith. He had once dreamed about being like Sephiroth and becoming a great hero. It was something he had stopped looking for during those years in a lab. Zack had never given up though and become some kind of beacon for Cloud.

"We have to decide what we're going to do. Cloud, running from Shinra won't work. We're underage, outgunned, and the last time we fled…" He didn't need to finish as he saw Cloud flinch. "So, we can always ask Angeal and that friend of yours you mentioned for help. If we can't rely on them, we'll come up with something else."

Cloud swallowed, hard. Zack had pointed out another way of getting around. Ask Vincent or Angeal or both of them for help. "Zack, you said Angeal forced you to kill him. Why did he do that?"

"Ouch. You certainly don't pull those questions do you, Spike?" Zack laughed, trying to hide the shame he felt over that fight. "Angeal thought he had become a monster when he found out. He believed that by dying he could stop himself from becoming like Genesis or becoming an even greater monster. When Sephiroth lost it, when I had to fight Genesis, I couldn't help remembering those days before he went mad. He'd said I needed to be prepared for the coming fight. It was not something that you should have dealt with alone."

"If we fail to stop Genesis from going mad or we end up having to face Sephiroth again we're going to need stronger fighters. Angeal is someone I know can take either of them on."

"Sephiroth is easy enough to beat." Cloud stated, as he remembered that damning fight before he'd ended up in the past once more.

"Genesis too." Zack drawled. "We'll go back to the director, sign on with SOLDIER as a pair, get to Angeal and this Vincent guy, and try to keep either the Commander or the General from going any further than they already have."

"So, we're going to Midgar after all?" Cloud sighed. "I'm not sure how well this is going to work out. Neither of us are really going to be front-line fighters for awhile."

"I know how to forge Materia." Zack declared. "And I know you learned a few things on your trip around the world. We'll just have to deal with it. I'll miss the Buster, but SOLDIER produces some decent weapons at times."

"Or we can just hit up one of those bunkers I mentioned before." Cloud drawled.

"I'm kind of tired of running all over Gaia, Spike." Zack declared. "It's really not all that healthy."

Cloud blinked. "You've got something on your mind, don't you?"

"Yup." He responded, "Plus, we have company."

The Turks from earlier crept out of the surrounding trees, this time several of them had their weapons out and ready. "Have you decided?" Their leader asked.

"Sure thing. We'll go with you, but only if we stay together." Zack answered, ignoring the tensing of Cloud's shoulders. Glowing mako blue eyes bore a hole into the SOLDIER's shoulder blades as the older boy brought his hands up. "Spike and I stay together."

"Turks are the only ones with partners, kid." One of the blue suited men started.

"Then that decides it." Zack decided. "We'll just join the Turks."

"Wait, what?" Cloud hissed, fighting the urge to grab his friend and shake him.

The leader of the Turks blinked at the two boys before turning and looking behind him at the oncoming troopers. "So be it. Welcome to the division kids."

He stepped to the side as the clearing filled with army men and they were brought to the waiting vehicles. The leader of the Turks pulled the SOLDIER director to the side and spoke with him quietly for several minutes. After what seemed like a debate of the century, the two men split ways and settled into two different vehicles. Zack leaned to the side to get a long look at Cloud as the blond seethed in his seat. Their escort now consisted of primarily blue suited uniforms.

"Zack…"

"Yes, Cloud?"

"I'm going to kick your butt the first chance I get." he growled out.

"You can try." The elder of the two responded.

"Man, I can just feel the love in this vehicle." A red head commented. "Remember those days, Rude?"

"Hm." The bald Turk flicked a glance at the two smaller, newest recruits who'd actually volunteered and smirked. Just a bit.

"Yeah. You boys are in for a real time of it." The red head laughed. "Name's Reno. We'll be your program mentors and assassins if you fail to meet basic standards and protocols."


	4. Chapter 4

Scribbling the last of his name across the intake paperwork, Cloud Strife leaned back in the school house desk-chair and glowered at the back of Zack's neck for several long seconds. The test had taken several long hours to complete, along with two recess breaks, four bathroom breaks, and a lunch break in which Cloud had nearly gotten into a fight with Rufus Shinra. The eleven year old ex-Soldier continued to glare at his friend's neck.

 

There was no way either he or Zack were going to get out of this mess by pretending to be stupid or immature. Cloud had already decided to play out the 'troublemaker' role he'd had since he was a child. He didn't think Zack was going to understand it since the black haired teenager had already managed to charm the Turk over seeing the exams that they and several others were taking. As the youngest in the class, it seemed as if he was going to be easy prey for the rest of the pack. At least, until they got a good look at his and Zack's eyes.

 

Mako had a small benefit of keeping them together even if it set the pair of them apart from the rest of the group. Zack's former friend Cissnei also seemed to have been taken aback by the glowing eyes in such young faces. Or perhaps it might have been when Zack had hugged the girl and promptly earned himself an elbow to the ribs and a toss from over Cissnei's shoulder from the curly haired Turk candidate. 

 

"Zack," Cloud whispered to himself, forcing himself to remember that promise he had made his dying friend so long ago. Now, everything was different. He had used that materia to get to this place and now that he was finally in a place to think, it wasn't going so well. At least that long pony tail he'd worn had finally been cut off.

 

(Break)

 

Later that night, Zack rolled over onto his side to consider the profile of his friend on the other bunk. The Turk training barracks were pretty bare, though smaller than the SOLDIER or the Infantry barracks. Plain steel walls and concrete floors made up the bulk of the exterior and interior of the building. Some of the space was allocated to the use of personal effects it was almost alien in its faint familiarity. They'd planned on getting into SOLDIER at some point and his words complicated things while keeping the two of them together. Zack understood this, but Cloud's reaction compelled him to try and explain what he was thinking when he had volunteered them for Turk duty.

 

"Hey, Cloud?" he whispered, trying to keep from awakening their bunk-mates. There were fifteen of them and only he and Cloud had the mako enhancements.

 

Cloud's eyes opened and the glow of mako shined back at him.

 

"It's just for a while," he whispered.

 

"I know." Cloud responded. "I knew we would do things neither of us was going to be happy with."

 

"You still mad at me?" Zack whispered, his tone of voice hissing from the sheer low volume of the sound.

 

"... No." he answered. "Zack, I understand."

 

"But you're not cool with this?" Zack demanded. "You agreed that we needed access to weapons suited for our size and fighting styles. Turks have all sorts of security clearance and we can probably get a Buster Style sword or two custom made if we save for it."

 

Cloud huffed softly. His inner Zack was screaming in his head and his friend Zack was arguing in outside world too. The blond ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of how to soothe both forms of his friend. He had to do it subtly though, his identity crisis wasn't something he wanted even Zack to know about. His friend worried about him too much as it was. "Zack, I get it. You don't need to worry about how I'll handle things."

 

Silence reigned for a few minutes before Zack opened his mouth again. "We can always get transferred to the SOLDIER program later." He declared. Zack had been through the entire program before Nibelheim and he knew a few tricks that would help him and Cloud get there if they needed too. The truth was, both of them carried a dangerous amount of information that they'd be hard pressed to keep from getting out.

 

Zack didn't even pretend their foreknowledge wouldn't come out eventually. There were too many tragedies that could be prevented with the things they knew. They could probably get away with some of the things that needed to be handled directly by them, but with Sephiroth active the danger of someone catching on was a very real possibility. They both knew that Shin-ra or Hojo would do anything in their power to extract any information from the future should their knowledge come out. Their first objective would probably be Nibelheim or Aerith.

 

Human nature being what it was would not allow for them to do anything else. "Perhaps, you can tell me a bit about your journey when we get the chance later?"

 

"I'm more worried about that damn uniform." Cloud declared, just imaging the blue suit replacing his beloved Soldier Uniform had the blond seething. "Turks don't ever quit. They live and die in that uniform."

 

"We'd have died if we kept running from Shinra, Cloud. That's why there were so many of them. I've seen what the company will do to get what it wants. This was the lesser of all the evils we'd have faced. The Turks aren't just something we need, they're going to be what we want for awhile." Zack hastily said, leaning closer as he spoke before gravity took effect and he tumbled out of bed. The thump of noise brought with it the lights coming on.

 

The entire bunker filled with groans as the lights came on and Reno stepped into the room. The red headed teen grinned fiercely at the dismay present in the room. "Lights are on and that means classes have started. Everyone on their feet. If you're not in uniform in thirty minutes you'll get to enjoy target practice from the wrong end of the field. Otherwise known as the advanced evasion course." He bared his teeth in a sharp grin as playful images of candidates fleeing from the testing SOLDIER cadets ran through his mind.

 

Cloud groaned. Of course they would be monitored. Everything was monitored by the Turks and that was why he hadn't wanted to get involved with the blue suited bastards. 

 

"Let's go, Zack."

 

The other mako enhanced, former Soldier rolled smoothly to his feet and followed Cloud to the lockers, grabbed his gear, and headed into the locker room itself. Cleaned up and ready to go for the day, Cloud and Zack joined the rest of the recruits at the back of the line as Rude dropped what looked like take out from last night on each of the provided desks, while Reno walked by each person and dropped a three inch book into their waiting hands. When he got to Zack and Cloud, the red head's grin turned fearsome.

 

"Boys and girls, I'd like to introduce you to our new recruits. This is Zack and his buddy Cloud. They joined the Turks cause we got the warm fuzziness that Soldier doesn't. So, we'll be basing their grades upon one another. As each of you can tell these two are going to be our Aces. Already got their mako boosts and everything. A little back story for you all. Soldier wants our new boys. If any of you knows what's good for you, you won't let that happen. We're planning to keep these two for as long as possible, right, Zackey boy?" Reno declared, the fifteen year old reached out and ruffled the long black spikes of Zack's hair and then squatted down in front of Cloud.

 

Cloud glared hard at Reno when he repeated the action on his blond locks. Not that it had much effect beyond sending the redhead into hysterical laughter. "That's just so adorable. Hey, partner, come look at this."

 

With everyone gaping at the unfolding scene and soon Rude joined Reno in staring at him, Cloud decided to give everyone a reason to be wary of the mako boosted kids. Cloud's fist balled up and slammed hard into Reno's nose, the cartilage snapping under the enhanced force.

 

"Whoa." Rude whispered, looking at Reno's blinking eyes before glancing back at the fuming Cloud. Zack had stepped between the blond and the two Turks as soon as Cloud had delivered the punch, keeping the smaller boy behind him.

 

"Did I mention we were thinking of going for SOLDIER prior to joining the Turks?" Zack declared, eying the second Turk defensively. "We decided we wouldn't fit given our... age."

 

(Break)

 

Sephiroth stared at Genesis blankly trying to accustom his thoughts to what the red head had just said. What did the Genesis know about his plans for the future? "What do you mean? From the man who would summon a meteor?"

 

Genesis arched a brow over his book before slowly, carefully lowering it so he could meet the glowing eyes of Sephiroth. His head slowly tilted so that his chin angled in Sephiroth's direction. His attention was full on the silver general despite his precarious position. He had wondered what Sephiroth's particular fascination was with the children versions of a blond and the Puppy. "What is the last thing that you remember, my friend?"

 

"Nibelheim. I wanted to free mother but that boy… He managed to sneak up on me and ran the Sword through my side. He shouldn't have been able to do that." Sephiroth lied, his head dipping forward as his eyes took on an even more feral light.

 

"My, my… Perhaps there is more to the Goddess's Mystery then I had thought." Genesis laughed, taking in the ruffled feathered look that Sephiroth was giving off. His 'younger brother' for lack of a better word was so used to being in control that the fact someone had actually beat him was stealing his attention away from Genesis's own plans. The Red Commander smiled. "Sephiroth, first class Soldier, defeated by a child. That would certainly be front page news, my friend."

 

"Your corpse will be front page news." Sephiroth replied, smoothly flicking a strand of hair over his shoulder as he spoke. Coming to his feet, the General began to close the distance between them as Genesis closed his book and came to his feet to meet the man head on. Before they could get more than a few feet from their starting positions Angeal returned to the room.

 

"I've asked the Turks to look into those boys." He was saying as he walked between the two hot headed SOLDIERs and dropped into a seat. "What are the two of you up to? Not another spat, hmm? They haven't even gotten around to repairing the last battle site the two of you destroyed. Perhaps a mission or two around Gaia would keep the two of you from getting into more trouble?"

 

Sephiroth turned his scowl towards Angeal. Did he do that on purpose? Were these two purposefully interrupting his plans for revenge? Did they know something he did not?  
"You did want the Turks watching those boys, didn't you, Sephiroth? And yet neither of you has answered my questions about your spat. What was the disagreement about this time?" Angeal continued, ignoring the furious glares he was getting from both SOLDERs.

 

"I merely inquired why Sephiroth was acting the bully." Genesis said. It was hard to remember how he acted at this age, was he supposed to act defensive?

"Well, be that as it may, we're wanted down in ops. The Turks have some new recruits they want us to observe." Angeal continued. "There's also the new SOLDIER recruits we need to orientate. I'm going to be needed at one place or the other, but I think we should have the two of you split up while we work things out."

 

"Orders are orders, Sephiroth." Genesis said, drawing out the sound of Sephiroth's name as he placed his book back into the inside confines of his coat. "Be wary, Angeal. Sephiroth is foaming at the mouth to do some damage and while you are dealing with him, I'll take care of the Turk evaluations."

 

Fleeing the room while his skin was still intact, Genesis made his way towards the barracks where the Turks were in the process of terrorizing their newest recruits into their new way of life. Ah, the smallest joys of life…

 

(Break)

 

"Tseng, you gotta transfer those two brats to SOLDIER. They don't belong in the TURKS. They don't even play nicely with the other cadets and the blond broke my nose." Reno said from between teeth even as he pointed at the offended appendage. The irregular shape of the cartilage skewed slightly to the left. The green eyes of the Turk narrowed at the files on Tseng's desk as he grumbled about the assignment. "It's boring, Tseng."

 

"You're still a newbie yourself, Reno. What can one small, mako enhanced blond from Nibelheim do to a TURK?" The older Turk asked. "Veld or someone can easily come up with something else for you to do if you can't handle the job. Besides, we've got one of the firsts coming in to act as an adviser and evaluate the two children for a few months. After that, just put them out in the field. There's a place in the Sector Five Slums where we could certainly use their appearance."

 

Tseng did not go into how he was petrified of what those two children would or could do if they weren't in the custody of Shinra. He didn't even want to think about what the dark haired brat would do if they knew that his parents and the blond's mother had been interrogated and still remained imprisoned in a hidden location under the Shin-ra Mansion of Costa del Sol.

 

"First Class Genesis Rhapsodos, reporting as ordered." A cultured voice said, interrupting his thoughts as the SOLDIER thrust open the closed office door. A second hand slapped on the wood behind the redhead and Sephiroth wrapped a hand on to his friend's shoulder and spun around so they were face to face.

 

"We were in the middle of a discussion, Rhapsodos." He barked.

 

Reno choked, giving his boss a weighted look. "Man, I'm telling you, mako makes these guys completely and totally crazy. Rude, tell him."

 

The bald Turk nodded.

 

Tseng scowled at the four teenagers and came to his feet. "Men, we are part of one of the greatest companies in the world. When we get our orders we carry them out without complaint. Reno, Rude, escort the SOLDIERs to the observation point and explain to them what we need. Now, dismissed."

 

(Break)

 

Never before had its like been seen in Shin-ra towers. Gone were the massive windows of the Shin-ra tower, replaced by the monitors connected to every piece of technology the President could get away with. Twenty two monitors took up the space that the President previously used to stare out at his empire as he whiled away hours at a time. Between the sets of monitors stood a single green column of green life blood taken directly from the Planet. The floating blue body's malevolent red eyes glared at the fat man dressed in crimson. Beside him stood the woman named Scarlet.

 

"A future in which we lose everything… This thing once belonged to the Science Division and yet now you are bringing the Weapons Department into a hidden plan. I want to know why." She said as she pressed a hand against the glass of Jenova's prison.

"Sephiroth and his ilk are responsible for my death from future memories," Shinra responded. "I can assure you I am quite sane and even if I'm not you have the kind of intellect I can use."

"You want me to create a bio-weapon using this thing." Scarlet mused softly. Her lips quirked upward as she turned away from the mako prison. " I heard two boys who were exposed to unknown levels of Mako were... recruited... into the Turks.”

 

"No, just a mere coincidence." He responded. "A fortunate one though. I believe that in the proper environment and with the right training the pair could even overcome Sephiroth."

 

A/N: A huge thanks to my beta Mystic 777 who gave me a useful lot of advice. I wasn’t able to include every suggestion however the ones that were used were actually best fitting to the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks Mystic for the awesome beta work you did.


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud woke with a scream choking him and Zack wasn't far behind as both boys sat bolt upright in their own beds. Heart pounding in his chest, he turned to stare at the dim glow that marked Zack's presence across from him. The two of them had been sent to bed shortly after Cloud had broken Reno's nose with the excuse that small children were cranky without a full night's sleep. If he hadn't of been tired, the soldier in him might have been insulted at the comment coming from the observing officer.

 

"Zack, something is wrong." He whispered in the room. Fear clung to his senses unlike anything he had ever experienced outside of the destruction of his home. 

 

"I know. It's like a pressure sitting on my chest and I don't think I'll ever get enough air." the older boy answered. Pressing a hand to his chest, Zack leaned forward as if he was trying to catch his breath. The pounding of his heart dimmed the snores and sleepy movements of the other sleepers in their room. "Cloud, we may not have the time to do this."

 

"We've got to think of something." the blond answered. The Zack in his head was really into bashing the pressure with something heavy. Really heavy. "We should never have come here."

 

Zack nodded, knowing that Cloud may have just been right. They weren't even close to Midgar or even Junon. Who knew Turks kept their training facilities hidden like this? "We're not just going to be able to get out of this. Try to get some sleep, Cloud. We'll figure something out in the morning. If Turk training is anything like what SOLDIERs go through, we'll need all the rest we can get."

 

(break)

 

Cloud was forced into a seat some four days later by Rude, with Reno slapping down his file in front of the young recruit. The table rocked slightly from the force of the Turk’s actions. Zack was restrained by cuffs on the other side of the small interrogation room as the red haired teenager leaned in close to the small boy's nose. The room was small, obviously made from an unused classroom that had probably once belonged to a small private school. The walls were once white, though now they were dingy white and peeling away to reveal crumbling brick walls and mildewed wood. The windows were boarded up, with the only light coming through the cracks of the boards.

 

Zack glanced around to gain an idea of what they were surrounded by when he noted the cameras positioned around the room. The Turks had made no real effort in hiding the devices. Turning back to the scene, the young Fair leaned forward and tugged gently at the cuffs that were binding him. Compared to what they had endured in Nibelheim, this was nothing.

 

"There are a few small holes in your story there, Sunshine. You're not related to Fair. You were never exposed to an exploding reactor like your friend and your parents never worked for Shinra. Where'd you get the glow spots?" Reno asked, planting his hands on the table.

 

Mako blue eyes glared at the green eyes of the Turk. Most of the candidates had already been through this process with Zack and Cloud being the last ones to face the interrogation training. Zack tugged again on the cuffs wondering just what the Turks were playing at as the redhead leaned back in his seat. Reno glanced towards Zack and Rude when the bald headed man placed a hand on the teenager's shoulder and dug his fingers in.

 

There was more to this test than simply resisting the questions and possible torture. Zack smiled and Cloud felt something twitch in the back of his head as the dark haired former Soldier first strained the cuffs until a small, wrenching sound of metal echoed in the small room.

 

"You know, Reno, we got to thinking last night. We don't think being Turks really suits us." Zack said, tossing the metal cuffs onto the cracked yellow linoleum. The concrete beneath it only reinforced the ringing metal of the cuffs. Rude made to grab the teenager, but the thirteen year old darted under the man's arms, between his legs, spinning around to enforce his point by kicking Rude's knee out from under him. There was no splinter of bone, but the bald headed Turk did collapse when the pain shot up his leg.

 

Cloud angled a blue eyed glare at Reno as he stood up from his chair and copied Zack's earlier motion by breaking his cuffs. Short of a mako tube, there was little that could actually stop them if they worked together. "Nothing personal." Cloud stated as Reno snapped out his electromagnetic rod to subdue the two children.

 

"Come on, guys." Reno responded. Rude was out as Strife and Fair paired off. The fourteen year old intern Turk glared at the two of them. "You're going overboard."

 

Zack furrowed his brow in feigned confusion. "Hey, Spike, you think we're going overboard? I mean, weren't we told in orientation that we had to use every resource to get a job done?"

 

Cloud nodded, his hands fisting up as he dropped into a low stance meant to take an opponent out quickly. Zack smiled at his friend and took a fighting position that Reno had only seen the SOLDIERs use. Both kids looked completely serious despite their levity at the Turks expense.

 

"Yo, Rude, we're gonna have to pass these guys." Reno commented, swallowing as his partner slowly pulled himself to his feet. "They're really not going to need basic training. You know what I mean?"

 

"Brats." The bald headed Turk groaned. "I'll let the boss know they passed with flying colors."

 

"Wait, what?" Zack stated, blinking as both he and Cloud glanced warily at the Turks as they carefully backed away. "It's never that easy."

 

"Turk training only covers as much as it needs to. All the skills you two got will have to do because we just don't have a place for a pair of brats. We're gonna have to just send you either back home or to some kind of other training." Reno explained. "We're a secret organized group with a small budget. You think we're using a broken down private school because its some kind of elaborate cover?"

 

"Shinra really doesn't like to throw its money away." Rude explained. Shrugging, he went on to enlighten the two kids to the Turk method. "Old buildings are cheap. Free if no one is looking. You can't intern until you're as old as Reno. You won't be allowed to just run around though. See, people will start asking questions about Shinra with two Mako enhanced children on the loose. We’ve got to maintain the company reputation." 

 

Zack nearly slapped a hand to his forehead. Really, the Turks were just being lazy… At least they didn't have to die. "We're all at a crossroads here. What're you guys gonna do?"

 

"The boss will decide." Reno insisted, already opening the door and getting away from the two mako influenced children. "Aggressive little bastards."

 

Rude limped as fast as he could to catch up with his shorter partner and quickly pulled him into another classroom up the crumbling hall. "Reno, you can't just throw them out of the program that quickly." he stated.

 

"And we'd be crazy to keep them when the mako has apparently done something to those kids. Rude, buddy, they have more skill between them then the President has ex-wives." the redhead responded. "Strife and Fair are already more partners than Veld was with that partner of his ages ago. I know SOLDIERs usually take their time, but we're not SOLDIERs."

 

"Which is why we have one of the commanding officers as adviser. We have to wait them out." Rude replied. "Or we can ask the Director to send them on a milk run. A graduation thing or something to keep those two occupied."

 

"The Turks don't need mako juiced brats, Rude. We need smart people. Like Tseng or the Vice-P." Reno responded. "Those two… they aren't normal. There is something off about them that eclipses anything like what we're used to dealing with. Plus, it's like we're trying to train super-spy versions of Sephiroth and that sits all wrong, man. The video feed from last night caught their conversation. They have some kind instinct that tells 'em when something isn't right, Rude. Yo, you have to see their expressions on that feed. I don't want to be near that."

 

Rude knew fear could twist a Turk into some awful mind games, however, Reno had proven to be more than capable of spotting weaknesses in those around him. The look in the green eyed Turk's expression upset his stomach. The kid hadn't been wrong before. He'd bring his assessment up to Veld and see how their boss looked into it. Reno was given the call on how long the two mako brats would sit in the program but a little over a week in was just too short.

 

"You don't think we can hold them. You're not the only one." Veld said as he slipped into the room. "We've got Soldiers watching hand picked video feeds back at base. Our standards can't be seen slipping. So, we're going to give those two kids a mission and they'll disappear. No one that young knows what they're doing, enhanced or not."

 

"What's going on, Veld? Why'd you take those kids in?" Reno asked, his arms crossing over his chest as he met his boss's eyes.

 

"The President is trying to fold Soldier into our group." he answered. "Beyond that, I don't know. We can't stop the merger of Turk and Soldier. However, helping those kids out of Shinra is something we have to do and for whatever reason they need resources. They came to us for that. They have no loyalty to the job and we won't be able to rely on them. The favor is done, now, it's time to protect our paycheck. Rude, take them out and drop them in Modeoheim. Tell them we need information on Avalanche or something. No one's going to look twice at a pair of orphans."

 

"So, they Turks or what?" Reno asked, eager for the final answer.

 

"Well, that depends on if they survive." Veld stated. "As for the other candidates…give them all the same exercise. Drop pairs of them in different locations with various tasks." 

 

Neither of the junior Turks had an answer for Veld's abrupt entry and swift exit. He'd barely even left the doorway. It wasn't their job to consider the ramifications of their orders, only to carry them out as directed. Reno leveled Rude with a questioning look and the other shrugged. "Guess we just kicked the brats out of Shinra." The man said, fishing a pair of glasses out of his jacket. "Get to work, Reno. We've got a long flight to Costa del Sol for your final mission."

 

"Oh, joy." the redhead's reply was loaded thick with sarcasm. "Considering we're less than an hour's drive from the place I don't see what the problem is."

 

In the other classroom, Zack lowered his fists as Cloud straightened up. "They're going to try something." Cloud said, turning to look at the windowless walls. The vents for the air conditioning looked too small to actually be of any use.

 

"Maybe we should go along with it?" Zack responded. "Cloud, if they think we're dead or whatever, they won't come after us. I'm in no way capable of handling a fight like that last one. Not right now, anyway."

 

Cloud paled, looking sharply at his friend as he stared hard at the door. "But, Zack…"

 

"Trust me, Cloud. The Turks aren't as heartless as you're remembering." Zack stated. "Not yet. Things are happening too quickly and if you thought Sephiroth was a big enough threat we'd have been all over it by now. So, we have time."

 

Fingering the collar of his shirt, Cloud tipped his head slightly forward. "I guess, this is your call. I don't remember enough to be able to actually tell what we need to do. I do know we can't let Sephiroth and Jenova loose on the world."

 

"Then we'll go from wherever we get left at. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out what we're going to have to do." his friend said. "So, the place we both knew Jenova was located at was Nibelheim. But the entire project that helped those guys be who they are was stationed all over the place. Where do you think we should start?"

 

Cloud breathed out. His mind flashed to that last moment, just before his sword was ready to plunge into Sephiroth's side. "The Northern Crater. It's where Avalanche was when we went to face off against Sephiroth."

"Then we'll head to the Northern Crater. But Spike we need to talk about Avalanche. Those guys are not good news." Zack said, his eyes darkening with the numbing horror of having to deal with the batch of rebels.

 

(Break)

 

Genesis glared hard at Sephiroth and he dimly acknowledged that the red haired Turk didn't seem to insult a pair of mako enhanced SOLDIERS to their faces. The silver haired Soldier turned his head to glare at the Turk, ignoring the red haired Soldier. Angeal followed slowly behind them to watch and observe his friends. Really, someone was supposed to be dealing with the rest of the business as they were only to advise on the best training methods for the mako infused children.

 

The Soldier waited as he watched Genesis slowly tip his head forward, Sephiroth tilted his head slightly to the side, and then he moved. Both possessed tempers that could be explosive if kindled properly. Calling SOLDIERs monsters would certainly do it.

 

Reno balked for a few seconds before he groaned, running a hand across the back of his neck. "Let's go, Rude. I’m sure the SOLDIERs know how to follow like good little boys."

 

Genesis hissed softly at the Turk had dropped on them as the redhead passed him by. The bald Turk ignored the reaction when they walked past Sephiroth and him before turning left at the corner of the hallway and opening a door. The two men paused as the Soldiers followed shortly after them.

 

"Perhaps we should discuss your manners, you pompous reprobate?" Genesis finally barked after the leading Turk. The other redhead paused and glanced up the stairs at the SOLDIER before flashing a grin.

 

"My oh my, look at the time. Chill out, Soldier. Our friends will show you where to go while we deal with the kiddies. Observe and see what you can figure out." the Turk responded.

 

Genesis itched to do something but Reno had a reputation for fighting dirty and even if you were to win, since he was one of the few pilots in the company, you'd lose due to official punishments for damaging an asset. As one of the few good pilots they had, that wasn't something the SOLDIER felt like risking. Not until SOLDIER had a man of their own who was just as good. "Is this pre-recorded information?" Genesis asked, noting the time stamp on the video feed. 

 

“That would be telling, wouldn’t it?” their Turk escort stated. "How else do you think we get things done? There aren't enough hours in the work day to get everything done and we don't get over time."

 

After following the directions they were given, the three commanding officers of SOLDIER entered the small room lined with screens depicting various security feeds from around the Junon Base. Leaning in close, the redhead lifted a brow at the Turk who had scrambled out his way. Genesis couldn't believe what he was watching. Two children, small boys really, were being interrogated by Turks and he had no doubt that these were the same children that won Sephiroth's attention. "This is not a coincidence, is it, my friend?"

 

The general leaned closer to the console, watching the recorded video feed with abject interest. He was curious to see how the Puppet and the Puppy would handle the treatment. It might even shed some light on how they managed to shrug off his influence.

 

If either had glanced back at Angeal, they would have seen the dark haired soldier lower his head in shame. Honor meant everything to the First. What was honor if it could not be sacrificed for the greater good? He had learned this some time ago and only if his brothers in arms could understand it. When the time came, he would see if they failed or passed his test. Just like those boys, Sephiroth and Genesis needed to be taught to see reason. The plan would fall through if they didn't learn and quickly.


End file.
